BULLYING
IN JEFFERSON TOWNSHIP PUBLIC SCHOOLSAn alert for parents of children in
Jefferson Township, New Jersey Public Schools

So, why is
this Roxbury website poking it's nose into Jefferson Township?
Well, over the past year 2 Jefferson families contacted us after seeing
our Roxbury site to express their exasperation over how little is done
in Jefferson Twp Schools to address bullying, with their children
bearing the scars of that inaction and denial. Additionally, in a direct
conversation with a friend living in Jefferson Township, she confirmed
that her kids see others bullied, with little done to address it.
We found that after putting up this site we saw some small improvement
in Roxbury. Not dramatic, but some.
Perhaps after seeing this page some Jefferson parents will put up their
own website to put Principals and Administrators on notice that the old
school way of blaming the victim is morally depraved and sanctions the
abuse of children who will be scared for life. Educators: Do you
want THAT to be your legacy??

Many parents don't recognize the far-reaching effects that school
bullying has on a child:

- Bullying can take
the form of outright violence, but doesn't need to

- Bullying can also
take the form of consistent verbal harassment or ridicule against a child

- Bullying can take the form
of shunning others and spreading rumors about them.

- Bullying interferes with
education and can link
learning with painful memories

- Bullying often leaves deep
emotional scars on a child that last for life

- Being bullied has led to the
suicide of hundreds of Middle & High School students nationwide

- School Administrators
often make public pronouncements in September such as
"a zero tolerance policy for bullying",
especially when talking to parents at 'Back to school' nights,
then continue to do what they've always done: look
the other way in most instances and assume bullying is normative
in Public School, or blame the bullied victim. Anything but take
effective action against individual bullies. In rare moments of
candor, teachers will admit admit that
the verbal interaction between students is often shocking &
toxic.

The core issue is human nature, we expect 12 & 13
year olds to have moments of dumb & even cruel behavior, but
when some Adult Public School Teachers possess no valid moral compass of their own and only have a minimal set of guidelines, knowing
that the Teachers Union will deflect all attempts to hold staff
accountable, it's no
wonder children are hurt.

The State
of New Jersey School Bully Guideline, revised in 2008, has the potential to be
used in a Legal sense against Districts who routinely fail to actually
protect students, and just running an anti-bullying assembly once a year
doesn't meet the standard. Those assemblies only impress the kids
who wouldn't bully to begin with.

Most recently, on January
5, 2011 Governor Christie SIGNED INTO LAW a bill that enacts
tough new rules that schools must follow to prevent bullying FOR ANY
REASON and effectively address it when it does occur. School
administrators who fail to abide by these would face disciplinary
action. Within a few months, as families of bullied children start
to become aware of these rules, expect to see District Superintendents
on the Hot Seat for systemic negligence in this matter of protecting
children. See a news article here:
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2011/01/nj_gov_christie_approves_tough.html

We have found that it is standard
procedure for the School Administration to deny that bullying of any
sort is a systemic problem at their school, no matter what the reality
is. That denial is part of what they understand their job entails. When
specific instances of bullying are brought to their attention, they
address the culprit, most often in an ineffective way, but imagine the instance was isolated. The article
link below from the American Psychological Association carries the
headline:"Bullying Widespread in Middle School, say
Three Studies". See it here: http://www.apa.org/monitor/oct99/cf3.html

If you feel your child is being bullied
your first step is to get the facts. Sit down with your child and
impress upon them that you need the facts, not just their feelings.
There are occasions when the first time a child relates an incident of
harassment, they are wound up and may exaggerate for effect, to get you
to take action. You don't want to approach the school with half-truths,
you'll just be seen as "crying wolf" and disregarded. The last thing our
school administrators need are parents ranting without cause. When you
do have the facts, contact the teacher, then if needed, the Principal. Keep a
dated record of your contacts with them, you may need it later if you
have to go to the Superintendent or School Board or Attorney. Here's the
school district contact info: